Tesla's once-dominant grip on the EV market is slipping fast. That trend shows no signs of stopping.

According to August's vehicle sales data, only 38 percent of new EV owners drove a Tesla off the lot. It is the first time in nearly eight years that the company sold less than 40 percent of America's new EVs. 

Shoppers have flocked to newer, cheaper models from rivals like Chevy, Hyundai, and Kia, or older models with big incentives from Volkswagen and Ford. 

The problem is straightforward: Tesla has not launched a hit car with an affordable price in years. 

Its last big release, the angular Cybertruck, was expected to be a blockbuster, with CEO Elon Musk saying the company had 'over 1 million reservations' a month before the car's launch. 

But, in two years since the $72,000 truck's release, the company has only sold around 52,000 copies. 

Still, Tesla is not sweating the loss of its sales power. 

On September 1, the company released 'Master Plan 4,' a roadmap of its future strategy. It did not mention a new vehicle model or any updates to its current cars. 

Instead, the plan puts AI and robotics at the center of Tesla's future, with promises of humanoid robots that can clean a house and autonomous vehicles that do not have steering wheels or rearview mirrors.

'We must make one thing clear: this challenge will be extremely difficult to overcome,' the company wrote. 

That bet is also tied to Musk's own wage. Tesla's board has proposed a $1 trillion compensation package for him, pegged on the promise that those future technologies will skyrocket the company's valuation to $8.5 trillion over the next decade. 

So far, Wall Street agrees, with Tesla's stock rising 6 percent over the past five days.  

Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein told the Daily Mail he thinks the strategy holds water long-term. 

'I think Tesla's long-term strategy makes sense, to shift the company from an automaker to focusing on autonomous driving software and robotics,' he said.  

'Tesla can still differentiate itself through its autonomous driving software.' 

For now, though, Tesla is bleeding ground in the very market it created. Industry analysts are worried about the company's sales slump.  

While Tesla's sales have flatlined, other companies are hitting monthly records before the end of the federal EV tax credit on September 30. 

Ford announced chart-topping sales of its Mustang Mach-E crossover. Same with Chevy's Equinox EV. Volkswagen said its ID.4 helped the company's EV sales jump 450 percent in a single month. 

And next year, Tesla will encounter even more competition from legacy automakers. 

Nissan's remodeled Leaf SUV will have a starting price of $30,000 and a range of 300 miles. Toyota's new CH-R is $35,000 with enough juice for 290 miles. 

And Slate, a new vehicle startup backed by Jeff Bezos, is promising ultra-customizable small trucks with a starting price of $20,000. 

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive's director of industry insights, told Reuters she thinks the new products could be a problem for Tesla's aging lineup: 'When you're a car company, when you don’t have new products, your share will start to decline,' she said. 

But Goldstein disagrees. He points to the company's recently refreshed styling on the Model Y, the world's best-selling car in 2023, and the upcoming launch of a cheaper product as reasons for car sales optimism at Tesla. 

'For the second half of 2025, I expect Tesla will do better than the first half of the year, when sales fell 13 percent,' he said. 

'Tesla's new, more affordable version of its Model Y should launch in the fourth quarter, supporting a less steep decline than EVs as a whole due to the tax credit expiration.'

Tesla did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.